LOGIN~KNOX~"KNOX!" Jax screamed, his voice echoing frantically into the howling storm as he dived across the circle toward my motionless body. "KNOX! WAKE UP! GODDESS PLEASE, KNOX!"After going through what I could only describe as hell, I opened my eyes, gasping desperately for air as my chest heaved against the cold stone floor. Blood tasted thick and sour in my throat."Knox! Hold on!" Jax was kneeling beside me, his hands shaking as he boosted me up against a broken pillar.My whole body trembled violently. Pain shot through my spine like electric shocks, but when I looked down at my right wrist, the black iron tracking charm was completely dead. The dark metal was dull and cracked, its glowing magical runes burned away."It worked..." I wheezed out, coughing into my sleeve.Maeve collapsed onto her knees nearby, looking completely drained. "The cloak is active around you, Knox. But you look like death.""We don't have time," I grunted, forcing myself to stand up. My legs felt like
~KNOX~"Do it, Maeve," I said, my voice steady, cold, and final."Knox, please!" Jax begged, with tears of pure frustration shining in his dark eyes. "Don't do this! Your wolf can get hurt, please!""I don't care about my wolf, Jax!" I yelled, turning to my friend with burning determination. "I don't care if it takes my strength! I even don't care if it takes my life later! If I have to walk through hell to hold Everett in my arms one last time, and if I can guarantee his safety, then I will gladly burn!"Jax stared at me in despair, his chest heaving, completely speechless. He slowly let go of my arm, before stepping back against the stone wall, and burying his face in his hands.Maeve looked at me with deep pity and awe, then she slowly nodded her head. "Prepare the circle."We moved to the center of the old botanical glasshouse.Maeve drew a massive, complex runic circle on the stone floor using crushed black salt, silver powder, and rare herbs. She lit four tall black candles at
~KNOX ~I waited until the entire west wing went completely silent.Miller was asleep on his bed in the adjoining room, breathing heavily. I looked at his peaceful, sleeping face for a long moment, then quietly pulled my leather coat around my shoulders. I was intentionally leaving him out of this. Miller was a loyal friend, but he was far too terrified of dark magic. If I told him what I was planning to do tonight, he would throw himself at my feet and beg me to stop.I couldn't stop. Not now.I slipped out through the narrow alcove window, dropping silently onto the wet grass of the lower courtyard. The night air was freezing, biting through my tunic, but my body was already burning with a feverish, restless energy. My right wrist throbbed with the dull weight of the iron tracking charm, while the raw, burned scar on my left wrist stinged violently."I knew you were going to do something completely insane," a low voice whispered from the shadows of the stone archway.I whipped a
~KNOX ~The thick oak door of my private study banged shut with a loud noise."Knox! Calm down! Stop!" Jax yelled, diving out of the way as a massive wave of my Alpha aura exploded outward across the room.SMASH!The large, reinforced glass windows on the far side of the study instantly broke into a million tiny pieces, raining sharp bits across the stone floor. The raw, burned scar on my left wrist, the ugly souvenir from Maeve's counter-charm pulsed with a blinding, agonizing heat, making my wolf go completely wild."They brought her into the fucking academy, Jax!" I roared, my eyes flashing with a terrifying red light as I paced back and forth across the room like a caged beast. "Zeth dragged Everett's innocent little sister right into the lion's den! And he assigned her directly to Valerie!"Miller rushed into the study, ducking as a stray piece of wood splintered off the desk. "Knox, you have to get your wolf under control! If the guards outside hear this, or if Valerie comes
~EVERETT~The big oak doors of the visitor hall closed behind Lord Zeth with a loud bang. The sound of his boots faded away down the marble hallway, leaving Clara and me standing by the large stone pillars.Clara looked up at me, her big brown eyes shining with excitement, completely unaware of the deadly shadow that had just fallen over us."Isn't this amazing, Everett?!" Clara squealed, grabbing my arm and bouncing on her heels. "When the official car pulled up to our house this morning, Mom and Dad nearly dropped their tea! They were so shocked!"My heart was still beating wildly against my chest. I looked down at my younger sister, my hands shaking as I tried to keep my face calm."Clara... why didn't you write to me?" I asked, my voice tight and strained. "How did an academy scholarship even arrive for you out of nowhere? You didn't even properly apply here.""I know!" Clara said, smiling proudly. "An official representative from Lady Valerie's family came right to our door. Th
~EVERETT~The dark, wet walls of my Room didn't feel like a prison anymore.I sat on the edge of my narrow mattress, hugging my thin blanket against my chest, my heart beating fast and bright inside my ribcage. The room was freezing, my stomach was cramping from hunger, and the lingering heat of my suppression fever was still buzzing under my skin, but for the first time in weeks, the crushing darkness in my chest was gone.'I love you.'Knox's voice was still ringing inside my head, echoing over and over like a beautiful, golden song.He hadn't lied to me. He hadn't used me like garbage. He was wearing an iron chain on his wrist, suffering in silence, enduring horrific torture just to keep me and my family alive."He loves me..." I whispered into the quiet dark, tears of overwhelming joy spilling over my eyelashes. "Knox really loves me..."I reached up and touched the side of my neck where his temporary scent-mark had faded. My soul felt whole again. The heartbreak that had been
EVERETTI stood frozen in the middle of my room, my fingers trembling so badly that I almost dropped the sweater I was trying to pull over my head.My entire body still felt overheated and sensitive from the way Knox had looked at me earlier, from the way his voice had curled low and dangerous when
~EVERETT~ The sound of fists hitting flesh was wet and strong. Someone made a noise. Another person cried out. Bodies were knocked backward. I couldn't see much, still pressed against the cold tile, but I heard every strike. Knox moved like a storm of controlled anger. There were three loud thud
~EVERETT~ The silence in the arena was suffocating now. Knox didn't move. He just stood there on the ice, his nostrils flaring as he took in the air. If my scent betrayed my sheer terror, I’m sure everyone here definitely noticed. I was an omega, and right now, I smelled like honey turned sour w
~EVERETT~ I never thought I’d lose my virginity like this. I never thought that the one man who hated me the most in the world would be the same man groaning as he shoved his thick cock into my tight hole for the first time in my life. But it all started a few weeks ago, the day my whole life bega